The Gloaming

Since it's almost Halloween, I might as well post something scary to join the crowd. "The Gloaming" is another short from the brilliant and twisted mind of Andrew Huang, the creator of "Doll Face". It is a really creepy film about a white collar worker climbing into his monitor during a late-night shift, and eventually got stuck in a nightmarish cycle with the evil creatures. The overall eerie feeling, the whole climb-through-the-tunnel scene, and the weird time-space paradox theme really reminds me of the game "Silent Hill 4: The Room". Enjoy the short, and have a great Halloween!

萬聖節快到了, 所以po個恐怖一點的東西應景吧. "The Gloaming"(朦朧)是之前做過"Doll Face"的Andrew Huang另一個作品. 這個相當詭異的短片描述一個白領階級的員工在趕大夜班時, 爬進了他的電腦螢幕裡. 之後似乎跟一群邪惡的生物被鎖在一個不段重複, 永無止境的惡夢中. 整個片的陰森感, 主角穿越狹窄的隧道, 以及奇妙的時空弔詭讓我想起"寂靜之丘4: 房間"的景象. 祝大家萬聖節快樂!

Onwards

"Onwards" is a short created by James Jarvis and sponsored by Nike, which follows a potato-head runner as he jogs across various terrains and fields. I really like the smooth and creative transitions between different parts of the animation, which blends the various imaginative worlds that the runner came across really well. One could tell from this short that the creator really enjoys running, and understands the hardships, joys and surprises that it gave him too.

"Onwards"是James Jarvis製作, 由Nike贊助的一個動畫短片. 動畫跟隨一個在慢跑的馬鈴薯頭穿越各式各樣的森林和平原. 我很喜歡這個動畫以相當順暢並且有創意的方式從一個環境轉換到下一個, 使得這些充滿不同想像力的世界連結了起來. 可以看得出來創作者相當喜歡跑步, 而且很了解跑步帶給他的快樂, 辛勞, 和驚喜．

Coke "Heist"

Ever seen Ocean's Eleven? Well, think of this spot for Coca-Cola as a bug's version of Ocean's Eleven, with their $150 million grand price being... a bottle of coke, of course. New York based studio Psyop has created this charming commercial about a group of bugs trying to steal a bottle of coke from a napping dude with their wit and skills. My favorite part is how a group of butterflies mimics the bottle as a stand-in. This commercial is the winner of the best commercial for 2009 Emmy Awards.

有看過瞞天過海嗎? 那麼, 把這個可口可樂的廣告視為瞞天過海的蟲蟲版, 而他們拼了命要偷的東西當然是... 一瓶可樂啦. 這個可愛的廣告是由紐約的Psyop製作, 描述一群小蟲子用他們的機智與技巧把一瓶可樂從在睡覺的人手中偷走. 我最喜歡的部分是一群蝴蝶把自己偽裝成一個瓶子的樣子當替身. 這個廣告贏得了2009年的艾美最佳廣告獎.

"9" Original Short

Many of you have probably seen or heard of the new animated film "9" released last month, but did you know that it is actually based off a student project created by the same guy who directed the movie? Shane Acker, while studying film and animation in UCLA, showed off his short at a film festival. Tim Burton saw the short and was so impressed by it, that he decided to help Shane turning it into a full-length feature. This is probably every animation student's ultimate dream, and it came true for him. (In case if you don't know about this movie, here's the trailer)

上個月在美國上映了一部動畫電影, 片名叫"9". (台灣好像沒上映...) 這部電影是改編一個學生做的動畫短片. 而後來那個學生, Shane Acker, 也成了那部電影的導演. Shane Acker當初在UCLA讀電影和動畫製作時, 在一個電影影展裡秀出了他做的短片, 被Tim Burton大導演看到. Tim非常喜歡這短片, 而決定幫Shane把"9"搬到大銀幕上. 這大概是所有讀動畫的學生的終極夢想吧? 而Shane他實現了這個夢. (看看電影的預告片)

Mr. Furry

Another weird yet interesting commercial for the MTV International identity reboot. This one is from the collaboration of Universal Everything and Realise. Showing a super furry guy and his bouncy pet constantly morphing their fur coat into different colors and forms, this ad is equally strange and refreshing as "Sweetheart". For the other MTV International ads, check out "Mad Drummer", "Windkiss", "Jewels and Oil", and "Chocolate Gold Sunset".

另一個奇怪又有趣的MTV International廣告. 由Universal Everything和Realise合作完成,這廣告秀出一個毛茸茸先生與他的寵物, 不停的改變他們毛的顏色與形體, 簡直就跟上一個 "Sweetheart" (甜心)一樣新奇古怪. 想要看其他的MTV International廣告,可以看看"Mad Drummer"(瘋狂鼓手),"Windkiss"(風吻),"Jewels and Oil"(珠寶與油),和"Chocolate Gold Sunset"(巧克力黃金日落).

Sweetheart

Sweetheart is part of a series of identity reboot campaign for MTV International. A collaborative effort between Universal Everything and Zeitguised, this video shows an exploding heart made of... candies. At first glance, I really couldn't tell what message it is trying to convey, only thought what ever I saw was pretty cool in a weird way. Then I realized, that is probably its message: To present the brand as something cool in a weird yet refreshing way.

Sweetheart (甜心)是MTV International一連串的品牌宣傳廣告之一. 由英國的Universal Everything 和Zeitguised合力製作,這個廣告秀出了一個用糖果製作出的愛心正在爆炸當中. (叫它"甜心"應該也不為過吧?) 第一次看到這的時候有點搞不清這影片想表達什麼,只覺得很怪又挺酷的. 不過後來發現,這就是它要表達的東西: 把MTV這電台詮釋成一個很怪,很酷,又很新鮮的東西.

Saturn Rebrand

Saturn is a European electronics chain store, sort of like the Best Buy in America. However, I'm sure Best Buy would never have an advert like this one. Done by 1stAveMachine, this rebranding commercial features a female robot partially disintegrates herself into floating bits and pieces. The whole video is very sexually suggestive, and yet feels very sleek and futuristic at the same time. Also check out the "director's cut" if you're interested. (although somewhat less impressive in my opinion) Warning: Both videos are a bit NSFW since they feature a chick who's about 99% nude.

Saturn 是歐洲的一個電子產品連鎖商,有點像台灣的燦坤. 不過,我很確定燦坤絕對不會有像他們一樣那麼勁暴的廣告. 由1stAveMachine製作,這個廣告秀出一個女機器人慢慢的把她身體各部位分解,變成許多微小漂浮的零件. 整個廣告算是很性感,不過感覺又有種冷酷的未來感. 也可以看看"導演剪輯" (雖然我覺得那倒是沒那麼酷) 警告: 這些影片不宜在工作時觀看,因為裡面得女子幾乎99%是全裸.

Pixar Intro Parody

A funny little spoof from CollegeHumor on the well-known Pixar opening sequence. Subtitled "Beware of adorable, homicidal lamps", this short sees the little lamp Luxor Jr. accidentally murdering the "I" in the Pixar logo, and facing the consequences. I wonder if they would do a parody on the DreamWorks opening someday...

CollegeHumor 做了個有點爆笑的皮克斯開頭動畫惡搞版. 標題叫"小心那個可愛卻有殺人傾向的檯燈",這個短片描述Luxor Jr.不小心把Pixar裡面的"I"給殺死了, 而後受到法律制裁. 不知道哪天會不會有人也來做個夢工廠的Kuso開頭動畫呢?

Cubic Tragedy

Cubic Tragedy is a short made by Ming-Yuan, a student from National University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. (Where my hometown is!) It is a story of a polygonal girl trying to fix the imperfections of her face by using some magical tools, and yet messed up and ended up with a tragic result. I really like how, rather than being an ambiguous choice, the geometric style of this animation really helps telling the story. this short will seem even funnier to the people who's been through the tortures of 3D digital modelling.

Cubic Tragedy 是一個在台北科技大學的學生Ming-Yuan(明元?)所製作的國產動畫! 故事描述一個多邊形女子為了消除臉上不完美的瑕疵,於是用一些神奇道具作修正.不過她因為搞雜了一切而最後落到悲慘的下場. 我很喜歡作者利用方塊的風格來描述這個故事. 這動畫對有體會過做數位3D模型的煎熬的人會顯的格外好笑.

Sony Bravia Ad "Play-Doh"

In the previous post I wrote how Sony's adverts are some of the most creative ones out there, and here's another example to prove my point. "Play-Doh" is one of several Bravia commercials from the joint effort of Fallon London and Passion Pictures. It is a stop motion animation, but what makes it so great is how the real time background elements such as people and cars seem to be moving so fast compared to the bunnies, as if they exist in a separate time, yet occupy the same space. Check out the other Bravia ads such as "Balls","Paint", and "Pyramid", as well as the making of for this ad.

在上一篇文章中我有說到Sony的廣告是我看過最有創意的,而現在要介紹的廣告更證明了我的看法. "Play-Doh"(黏土)是Sony液晶電視Bravia的廣告之一,由倫敦的Fallon London和Passion Pictures合力製作. 這是個逐格動畫,不過跟其他的逐格動畫不同的是, 你可以看到真實背景的人事物似乎比那些彩色兔子還快速的改變和移動, 感覺好像他們在不同的時間,卻又在同一個空間裡. 有興趣的話也看看Bravia其他的廣告如"Balls"(球),"Paint"(顏料),和"Pyramid"(金字塔). 也別忘了看一下幕後製作.

Put Your Ears in Control

Say what you want about Sony and the evilness of their corporation, they still put out some of the most interesting and creative advertisements I've seen. Animator Kristofer Ström has created a colorful and weirdly charming commercial for Sony Ericsson's new MH907 headphones, and explained the primary selling point of these "motion activated headphones" pretty well. Check out the equally weird behind the scenes too.

不管你怎麼批評Sony的邪惡和他們企圖,我還是必須承認他們的產品廣告是我看過最創新也最有趣的. 動畫師Kristofer Ström為Sony Ericsson新推出的耳機MH907製作了一個色彩鮮明又可愛的廣告, 把這"動態啟動"耳機的新功能解釋得很清楚. 有興趣的話也可以去看看這個的幕後製作.

One Million FPS Bullet-Time

Kurzzeit, a German company who makes "professional measurement equipments", has recently released some footages shot with their one-million FPS camera (frames per second. to put it in perspective, normal cameras can shoot between 24 to 30 FPS) featuring bullet impacts with metal, glass and concrete in ultra slow motion. It is amazing how these solids seem so soft and liquid-like when seen in this context. This stuff is even cooler than what they have in The Matrix.

Kurzzeit, 一個專門製造職業級衡量工具的公司,最近用他們可以射高達一百萬影格速率的高速攝影機(每秒所射的影格,一般攝影機大概只到24或30) 拍了一些影片,用超慢速度秀出子彈打中鋼鐵,玻璃和水泥的畫面. 看到這些固體在這狀態下有如液體般的變形,實在是很驚人. 這比駭客任務的子彈還精采多了.

Fallen Art

It's hard to find animations on black humor these days, and I believe Fallen Art from the Polish studio Platigue Image is a perfect text book example of what that term means. It is about a military commander creating the greatest masterpiece of his life through some.. unconventional method.

現在要找有關黑色幽默的短片真不簡單. 波蘭的公司Platigue Image所製作的Fallen Art大概算是解釋"黑色幽默"這名詞最好用的例子. 一個軍隊的指揮官,正在用一個相當... 脫軌的方式創造他這一生最偉大的藝術傑作.

Toy Story 3 Trailer

The official trailer for Pixar's next feature, Toy Story 3, is out. Can't believe it has come such a long way since the first one. I still remember watching the first film back in elementary school days and how it sparked my interest in 3D visuals...

皮克斯的下一個動畫 - 玩具總動員3的官方預告片出來了. 真難相信從第一部到現在已過了那麼長的時間. 我還記得讀小學的時候看的第一集讓我對3D動畫產生了莫大的好奇和興趣

Doll Face

A really unsettling film from Andrew Huang, Doll Face is about a weird jack-in-the-box type of robot with spidery arms constantly trying to make herself look like the image on TV. The message of the short is simple, yet quite powerful too.

一個給人感覺不大舒服的短片, Andrew Huang所製作的Doll Face是關於一個像是蹦蹦小丑魔術盒的女機器人,用她像蜘蛛般的觸角試著讓自己變的像電視裡的人一樣美麗.給人的訊息簡單易懂,不過又很強烈

MTV Movie Award Leftovers

A few very hilarious shorts from Fatal Farm that were suppose to be shown at MTV's 2009 Movie Awards but were apparently being cut. Make sure you turn up the volume while watching these.

Fatal Farm 所製作的一些很暴笑的短片. 本來應該是要在MTV 2009 電影獎典禮撥出, 不過似乎被刪掉了. 看這影片時記得要把喇叭打開.

Dix

"Dix" is a harrowing but beautiful short from the London-based studio The Mill. It's about a guy who has an OCD of never being able to step on to the lines between tiles, and his journey to cure himself of such a disorder. (Warning: This short can get very gruesome at some point, so if you have a weak stomach I suggest you not to watch it)

"Dix" 是倫敦的一家公司-The Mill 所製作的一個很悲哀又美麗的短片. 描述一個有邊緣人格,絕對不能踩磚塊之間縫細的可憐人,以及他試著治癒自己的旅程. (警告: 這短片有時會變的瞞血腥,腸胃不好的人建議不要看)

PlayFace

PlayFace is Sony's new viral ad campaign for their new Sony PS3 Slim. The various videos show people's facial reactions to the games they are playing. I really like the way the video slows down in key moments and the spot-on sound effects. Check out the official site too.

PlayFace 是一波Sony PS3 Slim 的新廣告. 影片裡秀出各型各色的人對他們所玩的遊戲做出的表情反應. 我很喜歡影片乎快乎慢的感覺和音效. 建議看看它的官方網站

Where the Hell is Matt?

Many of us longed to travel the world but couldn't due to a variety of reasons. This guy not only did it, but did it with style. "Where the Hell is Matt" is a video montage of this guy, Matt, doing the same silly dance all over the world. Just hope I can do this someday too...

很多人會說他們最大的希望就是環遊世界.這傢伙不但辦到了,而且還辦的很有風格."Where the Hell is Matt" 就是在秀這傢伙,Matt,在世界各地跳著他那有點搞笑的舞.真希望哪天我也可以這樣...

Thanks to Eric for sending this

TED

Although relatively old, this is still one of my favorite videos from one of my favorite companies. 1stAveMachine's amazing MV "Ted" showcases the firm's ability to seamlessly merge reality with computer generated imageries, materializing these other-worldly creatures on screen. Check out some of their other stuff such as "Sixes Last" and a spot for Adidas Tunit.

雖然有點舊了,不過這還是我最喜歡的影片之一. 1stAveMachine (第一大道機器??)在MV "Ted" 裡面完美的結合了真實的影像和電腦特效, 創造出各式各樣異世界的生物. 其他還有 "Sixes Last" 和 Adidas Tunit 也很直得一看